Escapement mechanism.



H. E. WARREN.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED IULYZE), 1913.

1,1 9 1 ,859'. Patentd July 18, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

' H. E. WARREN.

ESCAPEIVIENTAMECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZB, 1913- w l 1,1 9 1 ,859. Patented July 16, 1910.

3SHEETSSHEET 2.

fig-5 H. E. WARREN ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY29,1913.

Patented July 18, 1916.

3SHEETSSHEET 3.

IN VENT 0/8.

A TTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY E. WARREN, OF-ASHLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WARREN CLOCK COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. WARREN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Ashland, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented Improvements in Escapement Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to escapementmechanism by which a train of gears is moved, and it consists of a ring or Wheel which is supported normally upon two fixed points,and intermittently upon a movable support by which the wheel may be raised and lowered, the movable support and one at least of said fixed points being located upon the same side of a straight line passing through the center of gravity of the wheel, and of the two points, a fixed point and the movable point, one located above and the other below such center, whereby an unstable equilibrium in the wheel is produced when it is raised by the movable support, and is thereby caused to rotate a definite distance about that support when the upward movement is sul'licient to release the wheel from the fixed points, the amount'of such rotation. being determined by the return of the ring to contact with said fixed points. The reciprocation of the said movable support being caused ly the action of an oscillating device, thus converting its reciprocating motion into rotary motion or a corresponding progressive moven'ien't in a train gears. like those of a cloclt or similar 1. -iaed for escapement "tionablo and unre- .y wasted too large had the objection toothed ring or wheel (5 danger of sticking due to the lubricant, is absolutely positive in transmitting a uniform progressive movement for the successive oscillations of the pendulum, regardless of the amplitude of its oscillation beyond the necessary minimum swing, and has the further advantage of consuming practically a uniform amount of energy for each impulse.

In the drawings accompanying this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the escapement with its actuating lever; the train of gears driven thereby being broken away, as is also a portion of the pendulum, so as to show the actuating lever in full; Fig.

2 IS a side elevation in section of the same mechanism; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation of the escapement wheel with the rim in section broken away, and showing lts controlling fixed support within; also the rim in its two extreme positions, the dotted lines indicating its position. when the rotation takes place. Fig. l is a front elevation of the escapement mechanism in which the field of a stationary magnet is compounded with the force of gravity to cause so the proper action of the escapementwheel, which in this case is made of magnetic ma terial. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the direction of the three forces which act upon the escapement wheel a when a magnetic force is employed in addition to that of gravity, as illustrated in Fig. 4-; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the escapement wheel with ratchet teeth upon the outer periphery for engagement of the movable support or actu- 9e ating lever, as well as upon the inside periphery for engagement of the fined support; Fig. 7 is a similar view with. ratchet teeth upon the outer periphery only, of the escapement wheel.

As shown. in Fig. it, an efficient fo m of this device consists of an internally -.tchet which is attached end of a shaft or of the shaft 0 is (Z, in such main by offset spokes 5 to one pivot c. The other end loosely mounted in a heav c and also a moderate amount 0 swing of the she? in all d without permitting an considers play. This is convcnientl accomplished, as shown in drawing,

ev is of the sin {1 into a hall. a,

freedom of movement in all directions in its hearing. The additional ball 7' is a convenient means of limiting the end-play of the shaft 0. The internally toothed wheel ca normally rests upon the single tooth g, of the cam-shaped piece 7L fixed to the frame within the periphery of the ring a, and also upon another point or surface at i. The ratchet-wheel a. is perfectly stable in this position, being supported at two points 9 and 2', one upon each side of a straight line passing through its center of gravity.

A lifting piece or actuating lever mounted upon the pivot Z is so arranged that when its point m, the movable support, is tilted upward it supports the ratchet-wheel at a point which is approximately vertically beneath the tooth g, and on the same side of a straight line through the center of gravity of the ratchet-wheel. Consequently, when the lever 7,; is tilted upward, it carries with it the ratchet-wheel a. As soon as the latter is lifted sufiiciently to clear the tooth or point 5 the ratchet-wheel rotates downward about point m of the lever 7,: as a center, owing to the f: ct that the center of gravity of the ratchet-wheel is at the right of the point of support m at the time. This downward rotary motion continues until the next tooth of the ratchet-wheel falls against the fixed tooth g. Further upward motion of the lever 70 is prevented either by contact of the lower portion of the ratchet-wheel with the camshaped piece at point a, or by a stop 0, against which the lever 71 strikes. As the lever L descends, the ratchet-wheel a, being supported by the tooth g, which is at the left of its center of gravity, tilts upon that tooth and thus gives the wheel a motion of rotation in the same direction as before, finally coming to rest when it makes contact with the point 2', and the further downward movement of the lever X; has no effect whatever on the ratchet-wheel. It is obvious that this cycle of events will be repeated for each oscillation of the lever it. This lever has a counterweight at p sufficiently great to lift the ratchet-wheel, when permitted to do so, by the swing of the pendulum rod 9 toward the right, and the stop 0 then limits the movement of the counterweight p on the lever 7a and determines the extent of the upward movement of the point m.

The outside surface of the ratchet-wheel may also be toothed as well as the inside without interfering with the action described above, or a similar action may be obtained by having teeth on the outside of the ratchet-wheel and no teeth on the inside, the successful operation of the device depending in all cases upon supporting the rim of the wheel alternately at points upon opposite sides of its center of gravity, both of such points being on the same side of a straight line passing through the center of gravity of the wheel, whereby an unstable equilibrium is produced at each motion of the movable point of support toward the wheel, and causes it to rotate intermittently about that point a definite distance. \Vhenever this arrangement is employed, even with the rim of a wheel left smooth, there is a progressive forward revolution of the wheel, but the use of teeth is preferable to insure uniform, invariable action.

Hereinabove, the external force which acts upon the escapcement-mechanism has been specifically referred to as gravity alone, but the same action would be secured with perfect success, if the force of g'avity were compounded with some other force, for example, magnetism, see Fig. eithe rim of the wheel a or the pivot 0 being then made of magnetic material under the influence of an external magnet m, the tendency of which might be to move the wheel in some other direction as 6, rather than vertically downward. Under such conditions it would be necessary to turn the position of the fixed support 9 and movable support m for the rim of the escapement wheel about the center of this escapement as an axis, as illustrated in Fig. 4:, that is to say until the said supports assumed the same relative position with regard to the resultant of the external forces as they have in relation to the force of gravity when alone employed.

To make more explicit the operation of the apparatus above decribed, when magnet-ic force is employed with that of gravity, referring to Figs. d and 5, the magnetic lines of force passing between the wheel a and poles N and S of the magnet M, tend to move the wheel upward and to the right, as indicated by arrows a and 2?, while gravity pulls the wheel downward as indicated by arrow to, and the resultant effect indicated by R, in the diagram Fig. 5, is the same as though gravity alone were acting in a horizontal direction instead of a vertical direction downward, and the proper rotation of the" escapement wheel is secured when the point 9, and the point an of the lifting piece is, are turned about 90 from the position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be seen that the construction above described obviates the necessity for lubrication, excepting possibly in the bearing (Z, where even the occurrence of adhesion by gummy oil cannot interfere with the proper action of the escapement. It will also be noted that the escapement can move but one tooth at a time, and that it resists any movement in either direction which the train of gears tends to produce. The energy absorbed by the escapement is practically uniform at each stroke, because the weight lifted by the lever 70 is constant.

I claim:

1. In an escapernent device, a ring or wheel in a field of force acting thereon in certain directions, and held against move ment axially, but free to move to a limited degree in all other directions, means to engage said ring alternately at points substantially at the respective ends of a straight line which passes at one side of the centerof the ring and is approximately coincident with the direction of the resultant force which acts to move the ring when held at one only of said points.

2. In an escapement device, a ring or wheel held against movement axially, and free to make limited movements in all other directions, a fixed and a movable point of support for the ring, one above and one below its center of gravity and both upon the same side of a straight line passing through that center, whereby an unstable equilibrium in the ring is produced at each motion of the movable point toward the ring, and causes it to rotate a definite distance about that point as soon as the ring is released from the fixed point,

3. In an escapement device, a ring or wheel held against movement axially and adapted to make limited movements in all other directions, a fixed and a movable point of support for the ring, one above and one below its center of gravity and both upon the same side of a straight line passing through that center, whereby an unstable equilibrium in the ring is produced at each upward motion of the movable point, which causes it intermittently to rotate about that point when the ring is released from the said fixed point, and a second fixed point to engage the ring and determine the extent of each intermittent rotation.

it. In an escapement device, a toothed ring or wheel rim held against movement axially and capable of limited movement in all other directions, a fixed point of support and a movable point of support for the ring, one above and the other below its center of gravity, and both upon the same side of a straight line passin through such center, and a. fixed point or support for t ring "1 tin upon the opposite side of said straight line through its center of gravity.

5. In an escapement device, a toothed ring held against movement axially and free to make limited movements in all other directions, a fixed point of support and a movable point of support for said ring, one above and the other below its center of gravity and both upon the same side of a straight line passing through such center, a fixed support for the ring upon the opposite side of said straight line, means to give an upward and downward motion to the movable support, and an oscillating device which produces such motions.

6. In an escapement device, a toothed ring held against movement axially and free to make limited movements in all other directions, a fixed point of support and a movable point of support for said ring, one above and the other below its center of gravity and both upon the same side of a straight line passing through said center, a second fixed point of support for the ring, which engages the periphery on the side of said line opposite to that on which the first named fixed support engages it, an oscillating device and means connecting it with the said movable support to intermittently withdraw it from engagement with the rin 7. An escapement device, consisting of an internally toothed ring, two fixed points of support for the ring, one upon each side of a straight line passing throu h its center of gravity, a movable support for the ring below and out of a vertical line through its center of gravity, means for transmitting motion from an oscillating device to said movable support, by which the said ring is caused to rise and fall, and through the un stable equilibrium thereby produced intermittently to rotate a specified distance upon its axis, at each cycle of operation HENRY 

